Our very first NW Regional Event



His Grace Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos
speaking at Holy Name Church, Manchester
Photo Credit: Simon Caldwell 

Caroline Hull speaking at Holy Name Church
in Manchester; Photo Credit: Simon Caldwell

Ok, so I am still catching up, but I AM very, VERY busy now and I just haven’t had a second. I am determined to bring you all up to speed, though, so herewith my newest blog entry:
read on to learn about the most recent NW Office exploits!

I headed up to London (Why up? Especially as I am coming from Lancaster! There are some things about this country I shall never understand!) on Tuesday 4 November to the launch of ACN’s new Religious Freedom in the World 2014 Report. Your trusty NW Manager was invited to the House of Lords to mark the release of the new report which explores the state of religious freedom, or lack thereof, in 196 countries around the world. Lord Alton of Liverpool hosted the event and there were a number of excellent speakers, among them HRH the Prince of Wales (watch his taped address to us on our website --http://www.acnuk.org/) and His Grace Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Jos. You can have a look at the report and access the individual sections on each country at http://www.religion-freedom-report.org.uk. Well done to John Pontifex and the UK-based team who edited the new report!

On Thursday 6 November I drove to Manchester (yes, right into the very middle of Manchester on a weekday in bad traffic—am I brave?). I headed straight to Holy Name Church on Oxford Road and I received a very warm welcome indeed. The Jesuit Community based at Holy Name is so supportive of ACN and they were delighted to host our very first regional event. Fr William Pearsall, Fr Ian Tomlinson, Brother Ken Vance and Fr Joe Duggan couldn't have been kinder and Fr Tim Byron, who runs the Catholic Chaplaincy for the Universities, and Stephanie who runs the office, couldn't have been more helpful. I got parked up and unloaded and set up with no trouble at all.

Fr Tim drove me to Piccadilly Station to meet Archbishop Kaigama of Jos and his Private Secretary, Fr Emmanuel Kundum. Fresh from the Westminster Launch on Tuesday and the Scottish Launch on Wednesday, Archbishop Kaigama would have been well within his rights to be flagging at least a little bit, but this was certainly not the case. On Thursday evening he spoke with great passion and eloquence about the Church in his country and his efforts to work towards a regional and national climate of greater forgiveness and religious toleration. About 90 people came along to our first regional event and everyone seemed very pleased with the evening. Of course, I couldn't have managed without the help of Terry and William, the Area Secretaries for the Diocese of Shrewsbury and Salford respectively, and Brigid and Antony who are former Area Secretaries as well—Thank you all! Afterwards I sat down with the Jesuits and the visitors from Nigeria along with two other Nigerian priests currently working in the NW and we all had a lovely dinner together.

Archbishop Kaigama speaks to 500 pupils at Stonyhurst College

The next morning Fr Tim kindly offered to drive the Archbishop and Fr Emmanuel to the next stop on our whirlwind tour: Stonyhurst College near Clitheroe. I followed behind in Theodora (who was, once again, stuffed to the gills—if cars have gills…--with display boards, ACN literature and banners. The weather was terrible, with driving rain and low visibility, but our little convoy made steady progress and by the time we arrived at Stonyhurst it had cleared up quite a bit. Fr Twist at Stonyhurst welcomed us with a much needed cup of tea and at 5:15 the Archbishop celebrated Mass for the Nigerian community at Stonyhurst; there are currently around 40 Nigerian students there. This was followed by dinner in the refectory with the African students and in the evening the Archbishop and Fr Kundum attended a concert and had a tour of the beautiful, historic school.

Archbishop Kaigama, Fr Kundum, Fr Twist, Caroline Hull and Nigerian Pupils at Stonyhurst College

We were all up bright and early the next morning so that Archbishop Kaigama could address the upper school (about 500 pupils in all) at the Saturday morning Assembly in the newly renovated Church of St Peter within the College. Still no sign of the Archbishop getting tired at all: he gave a very rousing and riveting talk to the young people, stressing their youth and great promise and asking that they all make the most of their gifts and remember to make time for prayer in their lives. He was at his most inspirational when speaking to the students and he later told me that he looked out and saw such enthusiasm and hope for the future that he was immediately moved to provide them with as much support and encouragement as he could.

Archbishop Kaigama, Fr Emmanuel and your trusty NW Manager at Stonyhurst College

Fr Griffiths, the Parish Priest of St Peter’s, drove the Archbishop and Fr Emmanuel to Preston Station later that morning; I was again very grateful because I would never have fitted everything into Theodora (boot space isn't everything in a great car, you know!). I arrived back at the NW Office exhausted, but proud. Thanks to all who made the Archbishop's visit to the North West such a success!

Thanks for reading! Caroline